The text Struggle & Survival taught me about theseindividuals and how they struggled and survived throughthe obstacles they faced in everyday life. Not only didsome of them face obstacles of slavery, others facedobstacles with God and religion, the occult andwitchcraft, making a pact with the Devil, exertingthemselves as prominent persons of society – althoughthey were not white, but rather mulattos, and gettingrights for other mulattos and other races.

It was a very different time, a time when one could eithersell you into slavery or kidnap you into slavery. It wasvery difficult for these people to accept this type ofdestiny and all of them resisted against it in one way oranother.

It was not an easy life, nor was it a fair life for many.It was constantly filled with torment and despair. Itdid not matter what position this person held insociety – what mattered most to society was theindividual’s skin color and where society believedthis persons place was.

Although many of these people did prevail andaccomplish what they set out to do, it was not easy,nor was it always successful. In many cases thesepeople had to make many attempts beforebecoming successful in their endeavors.

It was a difficult time to live in, mainly because noteveryone had the same rights in society as they dotoday. For many of these people going through hardtimes has more impact in meaning then than it doestoday. That is not to mean that people have it easytoday, but we do have it easier. We have it easiertoday because of the people featured in the textStruggle & Survival and what they had to endure tobring about fairness and equality for us today.

Diego Vasicuio It is unsure how to correctly spell Diego

Vasicuio’s last name, however, since he was aquiet man, he really would not have minded ortaken it personally. Evidence proves thatwhen Diego was denounced to the parishpriest, by his neighbor, he was the leader to agroup of Indians. Diego was entrusted with astone image of the god Sorimana, by hisgrandparents who had also taught him how to“recite the proper prayers and perform thespecific ceremonies of his cult.”Unfortunately, due to Diego’s carelessness, herecited these prayers to Indian women whowere later accused of witchcraft and he wascalled as a witness to testify. Diego was wellinto his nineties when he appeared beforeFather de Prado “to answer to charges ofhearsay.”

The ceremonies, in Father de Prado’s opinion were moreoffensive themselves – it did not matter this was a formulathat followed a religious rite. Horrified, Father de Prado,learned of the Sorimana cult rituals engulfed enwrapped everysingle aspect of “the venerated union of god, physicalrepresentation, and holy ground;” led by Diego. Preparationfor rituals consisted of Diego carefully bathing the stone godand speaking private prayers, and then the ritual wouldcommence. It was simple really, Diego convinced the Indiansthis god would provide them with all the corn they needed.

Martin Ocelotl It is possible that as early as 1508, Spanish

ships were spotted by natives off the easterncoast of Mexico. Ocelotl was among thesoothsayers imprisoned during the years of1518 and 1519, during Hernan Cortes’ reign.Ocelotl was a religious prodigy who madepredictions about bearded white men. Ocelotlwas born in 1496, and very possibly born froma family of important priests or priestesses.

His mother enjoyed the people believing shewas a sorceress and more effective than herson. His father was a merchant and the familylived in Chinata. In Chinata, Ocelotl was amajor priest. He went to tell Moctezumaabout certain signs, seen by him, with the nineother native ministers he accompanied. It didnot go well and Ocelotl was punished by beingimprisoned for one year and twelve days.Moctezuma was killed and Tenochtitlan fell in1521, but this was after Ocelotl was ordered forrelease. Destruction was all around and theepidemic of smallpox threatened to rear itsugly head, but Ocelotl was lucky to surviveunscathed.

Ocelotl was successful andaccumulated land, jewels, andgold that he would give away tothose in need – a Robin Hoodsort of gesture. Martin wascoerced into a church marriagein 1533 by Friar Antonio deCiudad Rodrigo. During theceremony, Martin was forced torenounce his ancient faith andhis “evil lifestyle,” and to abideby the Christian faith andchurch.

Ocelotl was confronted in thefall of 1536 regarding rumorsabout him being a wizard,immortal, and able to changehis age and nature. Severalwitnesses were brought upagainst him and they discussed“secret meeting” Ocelotl held inhis cellar.

Ocelotl was a good businessmandue to the teachings of his fatherand developed adaptability thatwas remarkable. The conquestdid have repercussions and manypriests died or were killed in theepidemics. We really do notknow anything of the survivors.The devil was quickly found byChristian missionaries in theircourse of righteousness andlabeled and accused the Mexicareligious rites as “witchcraft.”Ocelotl was baptized in 1525 inTetzcoco and christened with theSpanish name Martin. He wastwenty-nine and set in his beliefs,so to say he completelyconverted would be untrue.

Ocelotl denied the charges and he was appointed an attorneyin order to present a formal accusation. Many of thetestimonies regarding Ocelotl and his alleged “wizardry” werebelieved and he was sentenced on February 10, 1537 to publichumiliation by being ridden on a mule through the streets tomarketplaces accompanied by a crier who proclaimed in bothSpanish and Nahuatl the charges against Ocelotl.

Martin’s freedom was taken away – he was sent off on a shipand his estate was auctioned off. It is possible this was done tohide the true extent of Martin’s assets and that he may havefallen victim to priestly competitors or debtors. Ocelotl'sestate was vast and plentiful and it is unknown as to what hisbusiness activities really were. Mystery lies as to what reallywhat happened to him because he and the ship somehow werelost at sea.

Juan de Morga Juan de Morga was young mulatto slaves. In the 17th century they lived in central Mexico.

Documents reveal they struggled to survive and experienced extremely hard times in the coloniallabor system. They were two key factors in society – silver mines and sugar plantations. The slavelife they lived was a crucial part of their story and factor of production. In 1650, Morga wrote aletter confessing he had made a pact with the Devil – the worst of his horrible sins. He furtherstated that God would need to cleanse all of his sins before he would believe in God, Mass was notattended by him, and he was a blasphemer. He would also renounce his faith if the authorities triedto return him to his master. Later that year he was returned to the capital city and was able to tellhis pathetic story to officials of society.

In 1627, Morga was born a slave inthe city Oaxaca, the son of a priest.It appears the only other informationabout his life is he has no brothers orsisters, only a paternal grandmotherand an uncle. He did learn to read,write, and work figures, unlike otherslaves. Morga passed himself off as afree man once he was home again.He did get his freedom for a shorttime, but was once again put intochains and escorted back to Oaxaca,his home. Back with his master,Morga was told he would be forgivenof his past crimes and not be“flogged,” but sent to someone elseinstead.

Morga was severely beaten and tortured by his master for months at a time. Hewas branded and when the bandages were removed his master did not feel thebranded letters were large enough and had ordered for the letters to be re-carvedinto Morga’s head. After some time passed, Morga escaped to the owners’ houseand begged to be sold to someone else. This man thought it best to put Morga injail but his master found out and used a priest to pretend to purchase Morga forhimself, and instead brought Morga back to his master where he was beaten sobadly, it took months to recover. One time while Morga was working his masterattacked him without cause and flogged him so badly that strips of flesh had beenripped from Morga’s body. Morga wrote to the mayor about his situation and hismaster threatened Morga. It worked and Arratia then used his money to buy offthe officials. It became so bad, that Morga called upon the Devil for help. AnIndian took pity on him and said he knew of an herb that would prevent furtherharm from Arratia, and the only thing Morga needed to do was serve the Devil on apermanent basis. He of course agreed and Arratia’s attitude toward him (Morga)was very different. Arratia ordered two suits for Morga and talked to him in a kindand gentle manner. Morga was finally sold to Mateo Dias de la Madrid byaccident. Morga was in jail and Arratia sent men to collect Morga, but they couldnot. It is unknown if this new master kept Morga as a slave or if he was finallygranted freedom.

Antonio de Gouveia

Antonio de Gouveia was a deceptively charmingman who moved about the Atlantic world freely.He was “an Azorean priest of obscure origins.”He knew how to get in with the rich and feed offtheir eccentric personalities. He knew astrology,read fortunes, and practiced medicine, just toname a

few. Gouveia was born nine yearsbefore Martin Luther and was avery curious man. In 1549, whenthe Portuguese Jesuits reachedBrazil and Japan, Gouveia was inhis prime. Gouveia was born in1958 to a family of Old Christiansin Terceira. At about twenty-twoyears of age Gouveia went toLisbon and was made asubdeacon, deacon, and thenordained to the holy priesthood inthe chapel of Saint Anne, afterabout two years while in Lisbon.Gouveia stated under oath in 1557that “he studied Latin andrhetoric at the University ofCoimbra,” without specifying theyear. It is assumed he must havestudied sometime before he setsail in 1553 for Italy for furthereducation.

Disaster struck and Gouveia was shipwrecked. All possessions were lost and heresorted to practicing medicine in order to get back home. This was consideredforbidden by the law of the Church as a profession for priests. He proved hisabilities for curing the sick with his vast knowledge of herbs. A man with acough was cured by him. A woman was sick and declined Gouveia’s services, hethen predicted her death, and ironically, she died. He was later arrested andaccused of superstition, “of having made of pact with the Devil.” Since Castiliandocumentation is absent, Gouveia’s testimony must be relied on. He madehimself invisible in order to steal from a table of Castilian men. He boasted thathe had the power to make people “lose their heads.” Although he appealed thesentence, the sentence was upheld. He applied for membership in the newSociety of Jesus, once he was back home. The Jesuits may or may not haveknown what kind of character Gouveia was. The Jesuit experience did notplease him and no one knows why. Gouveia’s magic was brought before thepeople. A hearing followed. He admitted “dereliction and accused himself ofhaving celebrated Mass without reciting them beforehand.” Gouveia ended upin a Lisbon jail. He later disappears from the history books.

Catarina de Monte Sinay Catarina de Monte Sinay loved

the life she lived in thenunnery. It did not hold manysurprises, but she was devotedand took her pledge as the“bride of Christ” very seriously.She felt the nunnery was areward to the people of Bahiafrom the king. Bahia did muchtrade with Europe and Africa.Some items among trade were,fabrics, furniture, and tools.Catarina was successful inspreading the word of thechurch and helping those inneed. She was extremelydevote and wanted to makethe world a better place. Shewas successful in her goals andfelt rewarded by helping thepeople.

Death approached Catarina and she had a will put togetherso that the few possessions she had would be put to gooduse. Her biggest asset was an endowment from her fatherthat grew over a period of over half a century from working.It became a rather large sum and aside from this money,Catarina really did not have anything else. Even with thismoney she lived in the nunnery with as few amenities aspossible. She was a very simple woman who did not needthe finer things in life or material objects to make herselfhappy or complete.

Cristobal Bequer In 1753, a letter was sent out stating the body of Cristobal Bequer was

“laid out funeral beir, garbed in the vestments of a priest, with lights onthe sides, ready to be buried in said convent.” He was a member of thecathedral chapter who was entitled to a proper church burial. It isdocumented that Cristobal’s background had arguments with the Church.It is a curious thing as to why and how Cristobal’s decision came aboutwhen he embraced life in the Church.

The cathedral chapter accepted Cristobal in January 1739,back in Lima. The chapter was a key part in the secularchurch organization and had a very important role ineveryday life and society. It also appears that his past hadbeen either forgotten or forgiven, but it is also very possiblethe past was well hidden. That did not last long and he wasnot granted any extra duties from the meetings. Cristobal’spast did resurface and he attacked a man by hitting him inthe head with keys and producing an obscene amount ofblood. Luckily, the man survived, but he demanded a formalinquiry into Cristobal. Unfortunately, Cristobal’s behavioronly worsened. Cristobal was sentenced for his crimes andwas about to be imprisoned when he slipped away. In theend, Cristobal was confined in a Franciscan monastery in hislast few months, he did avoid prosecution.

Thomas Peters The struggle for “life, liberty, and the

pursuit of happiness” was not madeup of just white colonists, as manyhistorians portray between 1776 and1783 against England. It was alsocomprised of blacks and NativeAmericans. Thomas Peters was aremarkable freedom fighter whosememory has been lost amonghistorians. When Peters was twenty-two years old, was a member of theEgba branch of the Yoruba tribe; nowNigeria. Peters was kidnapped in1760 by African slave traders, whichmost likely resembled other Africansdescriptions about their capture tothe coast. Peters was kept aboardthe French slave ship, Henri Quatre,by the captain. Brutality was ascommon as the slaves themselvesand torturing was as common asselling slaves.

It was not until French Louisiana, when Peters saw land again, the HenriQuatre made port. Shortly after making port, and since Peters had beendeprived of his natural rights, he started his own revolution in America.Slavery was something Peters never adapted to and he made attemptsto escape. Peters paid a very high price for his escape attempts by“unsuccessful black rebels: first he was whipped severely, then he wasbranded, and finally he was obliged to walk about in heavy ankleshackles.” No matter what Peters’ French master did, Peters fire forfreedom could not be removed. His Louisiana master sold Peterssometime after 1760 to an Englishman. Peters was sold again about tenyears later to a Scotsman. Peters lived to the age of fifty-four and thirty-two of them was a constant personal struggle for him because of hisfight for survival and freedom.

Miguel Hernandez Miguel Hernandez lived in the sixteenth

century in Mexico, it was a full life. He wasa free mulatto man, married, and with afamily. As an educated man, he became aprominent figure in the community andfortunately found love and success in anera that had social and racial prejudiceincreasing towards people like Miguel.Miguel accomplished a rewarding life andwas a rather lucky man. Although therewere moments when racial tendenciesamong the people were negative, Miguel isan important man to know. He is someoneof history that took the bad around himand made a rich and rewarding life. Theknowledge and literacy Miguel had of theSpanish legal ways guided him to visit thenotaries’ offices in town on manyoccasions. He would write contracts andwills, and most importantly, his signaturewas severely embellished in order toprevent confusion with another MiguelHernandez that may arrive in town. Hewanted to ensure his signature stood outfrom the others without any question as towhich contracts he signed.

Mulattos were considered dangerous because they lived outside the law – onthe edge. They were considered to be guilty of committing “assault, rape,drunkenness, and theft.” The law tried to enforce strict legislation towardmulattos and in 1597, they were ordered to “leave the Indian areas because oftheir corrupting influence.” The magistrate then ordered blacks and mulattos“to perform services for Spaniards” in 1623.

Intimidation was a tactic used by the magistrate to inflict power over the blacksand mulattos. The magistrate used their power and took advantage of those ofcolor and mixed raced who tried to become successful business persons. Themagistrate was successful because those of mixed race and blacks did not havepowerful or influential friends to help or prevent the injustices happening tothem. Miguel was smart enough to keep himself out of the traps set-up by themagistrate. He also assisted in getting the blacks and mulattos back intosociety. Miguel was a man that crossed many boundaries – social and racialbecause of his relationships. He had ties with all different kinds of people and hedid not care what anyone thought of that. He wanted to do the right thing andby helping those who were less fortunate due to race or social status. His lifewas not one that was easily put into only one category – he fit into manydifferent levels, but that did not mean others favored this.

Rachael Pringle-Polgreen Rachael Pringle-Polgreen was a

tavern keeper. This was a mainlifestyle for a freed woman. Itwas a stable way of life and italso brought in steady income.Freed women were also able toprofit by sexual relationshipswith whites. In the late 1770sPolgreen became the first, or atleast the earliest “freed womento own a hotel-tavern.”Polgreen was born some timearound 1753. Her father, aScottish schoolmaster namedWilliam Lauder and her mother,was an African woman Williampurchased not long after 1750.

Polgreen was a beautiful girl and unfortunately, she was awakened byher father’s attempts to tarnish her chastity. Fortunately, William wasunsuccessful during these attempts. William was angered that Polgreendid not succumb to his advances and ordered his daughter to bepunished by whipping. It is said that a British naval officer saw Polgreenbeing prepared for the whipping and came to her rescue. She was noteven eighteen at the time when she married her night in shining armor,Thomas Pringle.

When Polgreen was in her twenties she opened her tavern and hotelsometime in the 1770s. She named the hotel after the Prince WilliamHenry after a visit by the now king. He visited a few times and it was alegendary episode. The hotel was completely demolished in a drunkenspree. When the prince left he knocked Polgreen from her chair causingonlookers to laugh in an uproar. Polgreen did not show any emotion,she did however, sent the prince a bill for “700 pounds sterling indamages,” the prince paid the bill and this allowed Polgreen to rebuildher hotel.